


Welcoming the Wolf, part 1

by DemonicReader



Series: The WinterIron Files [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dark-ish James Barnes, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Protective Bucky Barnes, Romantic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, acting on that attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 00:30:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17498213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonicReader/pseuds/DemonicReader
Summary: James is recovering.Tony is building.The 'Rogue' Avengers return.(several months have passed)





	Welcoming the Wolf, part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reflections on the past, hopes for a better future...
> 
> The POV in the story is altered between Tony and James) tried to make the shift noticable...  
> English is not my Native language, there may be mistakes, so be gentle.
> 
> P.S. kotyonok - kitten) solnyshko - little sun, sunshine)

He met Colonel James Rhodes the same day they arrived to the Compound. The man greeted them on the landing pad, dressed in military issue khaki sweatpants and T-shirt... sitting in a wheelchair. He executed a formidable aura of command even in this semi broken state and James found himself standing a little straighter, mimicking a posture resembling parade rest a little more. Judging by the thoughtful gleam in Colonel’s eyes, it didn’t go unnoticed.

Tony greeted him with a hug, draped in a woolen blanket like a poncho.

“Rhodey-bear, what are you doing up? It’s three in the morning!”

“Your insomniac tendencies are finally getting to me, Tones. The ‘meeting’ Friday told me about went as well as I think it went?”

Tony sighed tiredly.

“You have no idea... Also meet James Barnes, my better half.”

“And by ‘better half’ you mean…”

“Yep, my soulmate. But we really should take this conversation inside. I’ve heard about walls having ears, but something tells me some of these trees do too.”

“Well, color me surprised if they don’t… It’s a pleasure, Mr. Barnes. Hope you know what you’re doing…”

“Hush, platypus! Don’t scare him away!”

“You’ll just thank me later if he runs. Are you even _sure_ he’s the real deal?”

The question made the Soldier pause, and look at Colonel Rhodes, puzzled.

“Real… deal?”

“Tony wasn’t exactly private with his mark. Many tried to take advantage. I had to kick a lot of asses back in the day…”

Gratitude was still a rather foreign concept to him, but being polite never hurt, especially when he meant it.

“Thank you.”

***

It was just a matter of time when the Rogue Avengers would be returning. The world still needed heroes to defend it, now that Tony, his clever Tony, managed to finally convince the UN Counsel that the big alien threat was real (Thor, Loki and a spaceship full of refugees from Asgard did make a solid argument in his favor).

The pardons were already set in motion. His would be slightly different, though, because, apparently, Sargent James Barnes turned out to be longest existing Prisoner of War in world history and was due to some military benefits…. a lot of military benefits really, almost four million dollars’ worth of them. Money was also a rather foreign concept to him (he used it on missions sometimes, to blend in), but the Bucky from Before fought in a war, he spilled blood for this country and suffered for it, so it seemed only fair to receive something in return.

The situation also gave Stark and his allies (the thought that his soulmate wasn’t alone in this calmed him on levels one might call spiritual) enough political influence to push through every other Accords revision, making the document that caused the ‘Civil War’ more acceptable. James knew, because he was often invited to read the drafts acting as an independent party. He tried to be objective, because no one likes half-assed opinions.

Having his opinion valued at all felt strange, but not unpleasant. He also discovered he liked reading very much…

“So, humor me, Sargent, how did you two _really_ meet?” Rhodes found him in the common room, book in hand. “I could ask Tones, but what 20 years of friendship with him taught me is that he most likely would try to hide the truth behind a barrage of pointy humor…”

“You know who I am.”

“Yes, I do.”

James set the book aside.

This section of the Compound was almost always empty. Too large for the handful of people living here: James, Tony with his robot family, Rhodes and Vision. Miss Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts, another close friend and the CEO of Stark Industries, was listed as a guest visitor with special privileges. Underneath the building lay a nearly impenetrable bunker with all of FRIDAY’s core systems inside in a secure server room. According to new security protocols, which they developed together, nothing and no one could slip in or out without the resident AI’s notice. All was safe… for now at least, so James let the memories go…

“The mark appeared in 1970. I was on a mission in the Middle East, so I remember. But I felt him, _really_ felt him, only several years later. When he got a little older, I gather,” James smiled at the memory. “He was so happy with something… and I’ve forgotten how being happy feels like a long time ago. I’ve closed the bond from my side though, didn’t want to give him nightmares.”

“Very humane of you.”

“The boy became precious to me, thus he was mine to protect. Simple logic. If Hydra knew the bond was active, they’d try to find him. Unacceptable.”

“And turn him into something like you?”

“It is what they do… to shape a better future… for whom I wonder...”

Rhodes shot him a sharp look, but kept silent. James gave him a wry smile in return. He never hid what he was, but Hydra didn’t define him anymore.

“I discovered we could exchange images between us by accident. I was training when suddenly I wasn’t in the forest anymore, but in what looked like a child’s bedroom watching a man throw a toy into a wall. The utter despair that filled the bond afterwards almost made me run into a tree. Later, through another image, I learned that man was my soulmate’s father…why would he treat him so?”

“You know what the family motto of the Stark family is? _Stark men are made of iron_. Howard Stark may have been a genius inventor who propelled the US weapon industry onto a whole new level, and a brilliant businessman to boot, but family wasn’t something he excelled at. There were times when I caught myself thinking that Tony was more of a valuable _Asset_ to him, than a son… I heard you killed him.”

“I did. His mother was in the same car…”

He needn’t explain further.

“… he loved her very much.”

“They applied the words before sending me in… I couldn’t do anything, but follow orders.”

“Tony will probably figure out a way to help you with that, if he hasn’t already…”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, he did assemble that nifty vibranium battle-prosthesis in record time… and when I last visited the workshop, I found him passed out over something suspiciously resembling schematics for a set of leg braces. These are signs that he _cares_. He doesn’t like to talk about feelings, much like you, maybe even worse, but Tony is a good man with a kind heart, if you get a chance to peek through all the barbed wire and minefields… Rogers never really made it past the mines, always got himself blown up one way or another.”

The Soldier nodded. His soulmate had suffered much, so he would be careful. Not _too_ careful, but enough.

“Understood.”

“Would you like to accompany me to the gym? I consider myself manly enough to _not_ feel intimidated by your super perfect self... and going through PT alone is boring as hell.”

“No… I would like to finish this.”

Colonel Rhodes smiled, approvingly.

“Suit yourself.”

Having options felt nice.

***

Tony was falling hard… and for who? His own soulmate. Who also happens to be his parent’s killer. Last time something like this happened he was a MIT sapling and the object of his affections was Sunset Bain. Did it end well? No such luck – she stole some Stark Industries company secrets and sold some of his _private_ ones to the tabloids. James was different though. Where Sunset resembled the sun, bright enough to hurt, his Soldier was more of an icy shadow made alive…

Tony thought long and hard, approached the situation they found themselves in from dozens of angles, but the conclusion was always the same: should he blame the gun or the man/organization pulling the trigger? He was a weapons manufacturer, he knew better. He even watched that video again, setting the grief aside, willing the rational to take over… and damn James for being so competent in what he did, turning murder into art. The police haven’t found anything. Nor did SHIELD for the matter.

That left him with another startling discovery – before Tony went for the looks in his partners, but, apparently, after meeting James, he acquired a new kink, the one triggered by competence. And, boy, James was _competent_ …

He even taught DUM-E how to make smoothies without motor oil or dish soup in them!

“Incoming call, Boss” chirped Friday in his earpiece. “Are you free to answer?”

“Who’s it from, baby girl?”

“The Dark and the Furry, King T’Chala of Wakanda.”

Tony froze, soldering iron in one hand, magnifying glass in the other.

“Why is he calling?”

“Didn’t tell me, wanted to speak to you privately instead.”

“Right… well, patch him through,” he pushed the chair away from his workbench, filled with scattered pieces of armor, turning towards a middle sized holoscreen. “Good morning, Your Majesty! Or is it night?”

T’Chala looked exhausted, but still managed a smile.

“Day, actually.”

“Damn, knew I missed something… You look like you haven’t slept for a week. If it’s the Accords Committee again…”

“No, the final draft has been approved and all parties involved signed. My call is of a different nature,” he paused for several seconds, collecting his thoughts. “The so called ‘Rogue’ Avengers have been officially pardoned today. If all goes well, they will set foot on American soil sometime tomorrow.”

Oh.

_Oh_.

“That was fast… where would they be housed?”

“The Accords Committee decided that it would be wise and beneficial to present a united front for the masses.”

…which rules Stark Tower out.

“I must tell James. If any of them show up on our doorstep unannounced, it may result in murder.”

“How _is_ Mister Barnes?”

“All spry and bushy tailed!” Tony couldn’t help a fond smile. “Found out he likes to read recently, so now he’s haunting the Compound library like a murderous little bookworm that he is…”

That startled a laugh out of the King, easing the mood a little.

“That looks like improvement… and his memories?”

“Seem to be returning bit by bit, because only yesterday evening at dinner he shared with me some stories about his three baby sisters. I don’t really ask. He’ll tell me if he wants to.”

“And the triggers?”

“The metal bits for the B.A.R.F. -system (Why are you laughing? It’s a cool name, suits it too.)  are almost done. It’s the software I have problems with… never poked into a human brain before and, honestly, it scares me shitless. What if I make things worse?”

“The fact that you worry about such things shows what kind of person you are. Mister Barnes was right to place his trust in you.”

Tony sighed.

“… at this point, only time will tell. Are there… other news?”

“Afraid not. I should leave you to prepare.”

“Good day, Your Majesty.”

The call ended, but Tony wasn’t in a hurry to move. He wasn’t shocked per se, because this course of action was rather obvious. The Avengers, as a team, fought off one alien invasion already, so the general public expected them to stand up to a new threat from space as a team... again. No one cares that nowadays their favorite super-heroes hate each other’s guts.

He needed James: to talk to, to sit beside, to snuggle into his side while watching movies, soaking up all the serum induced heat…

…and his Soldier never pushes him away.

It’s not a soulmate thing. It’s _their_ thing.

***

Tony finds his better half in the Japanese gardens. James is sitting cross-legged on the low wooden bridge, observing the koi fish in the pond below. He is dressed in black jeans, a red dress shirt with two ripped off sleeves and a pair of black combat boots. Beside him in a paper cup holder were two coffee cups. Tony was so happy, he could cry.

“I think I love you, sweetheart.”

“If you only _think_ about it, then I’m doing something wrong. Sit, kotyonok, have a drink with me.”

With a sigh and a few mumbled curses the engineer parked his bottom on the wooden surface. He also decided not to beat around the bush.

“The Rouges are returning.”

“When?”

“ Sometime tomorrow. King T’Chala wasn’t very specific.”

“I will be ready.”

Tony took a sip from his cup. Latte: not overly sweet, with just the right amount of cream to preserve the taste of coffee beans. James preferred his coffee black with no supplements, the heathen.

“You are surprisingly calm about it, Snowflake.”

“Appearances can deceive…in truth, I don’t want them here, but then I look at the bigger picture and understand that we need all the power we can get,” the Soldier also took a sip from his cup. “I asked miss Friday to supply me with all the video footage from the Battle of New York – to assess the enemy. She also gave me the footage from your suite…”

“Yeah, not one of my proudest moments…”

“Why? It was rather brave. And I got to see what kind of army we are up against.”

“So, genius tactician, what’s your verdict?”

“For one, this time they won’t just storm in. Before they considered Earth a backwater planet with a civilization still stuck in the Stone Age. Now they know better. Most likely they’ll try to move the fight into a more convenient environment… for them. To space, for example - Earth doesn’t have much to offer in that direction. Or they could put the planet under siege and eliminate its protectors… one by one.”

“When you put it this way, our future does seem rather bleak… the Avengers might not be enough.”

“I signed the Accords too. But you are right… we do need more.”

***

It was decided that the press-conference dedicated to the Avengers return would be held at Stark Tower. A good choice, because this way it would seem nothing had changed.

Friday followed their plane from lift of till landing, from Wakanda to New York. The Soldier wasn’t surprised – it was a good place to hide, especially when the King thinks he owes you something.

T’Chala was an honorable man, which considering the circumstances, was both a virtue of his and a vice.

They talked a lot since James’s arrival to the Avengers Compound. The first few conversations were held in Tony’s presence and were rather… rocky. Both parties were extremely suspicious of one another, but his solnyshko got fed up with it real quick and, figuratively speaking, put his foot down…

_“Come on, King Cat, you’re supposed to be smarter than this… lay your grief aside for a second and think! If the Winter Soldier was really sent to assassinate your father, it wouldn’t have looked like this flashy loud… thing. Snowflake, help me out, please! If it was you, what would you do?”_

And he told him. It wasn’t a soulmate thing, it was _their_ thing – to not sugarcoat, because each of them knew (through the bond or life experience) the value of truth despite the bitterness and the feeling of bile rising that often came after. Told all of it and even used the building schematics and city block layouts for demonstration purposes. T’Chala was silent for a very long time, but surprised them both by presenting his apologies. A tentative friendship was formed after that…

“How is it looking from up there, Snowflake?” his soulmate’s voice coming from a tiny communication unit in his ear made him smile behind the mask.

“Spying on me, kotyonok?”

The exagerated gasp of mock outrage that came after made the smile grow wider.

“I am _not_! Just wanted to ask how the gear is handling? Doesn’t rub you the wrong way, does it?”

“No, it rubs me just fine…”

A new gasp, different this time, more Tony-the-man, less Tony-the-engineer. The Soldier’s fond smile turned predatory, all sharp teeth and flashing canines. If somebody saw him now, would’ve thought him some sort of cannibal on a hunt. When he spoke again, the words came out with a purr-like quality to them, Russian accent thick on his tongue.

“The pants are little tight around the thighs though... we should probably check what can be done, yes?”

“…oh, absolutely! Blackout mode and let the world burn…”

“Mhm…”

“…and now Rhodey is looking at me funny. Right, creepy flirting aside, how is it _really_ looking?”

From his perch on the roof of the JFK airport control tower, James had an excellent view of the surrounding territory. The plane carrying the Rogues has just landed, and the pardoned super-heroes were slowly making their way outside. For a moment he felt a pang of regret for leaving his rifle at home: one shot and the world would be free of yet another Hydra spawn, but alas...

“They are here. The witch may need several more days in med bay, though.”

“The collar did a number on her then.”

“It is not the collar itself, but the fact that somebody had put it on, had power over her again… Hydra used the same device for her punishments after she failed to make me kneel…”

“ _That_ I didn’t know. Wish we could have Ross locked up sooner…”

“In her case, it would’ve made no great difference.” He looked over the rest. “Blond doesn’t suit her…”

“Nat is blond?!”

“Yes.”

“Well, she could pull that look off… probably.”

“And Steve has a beard.”

“You must be kidding…”

“I wish,” he put the binoculars away before starting his careful descend towards the ground. “Now is the time to send in the transport vehicles you prepared for them, sweetheart. Meet you at the Tower?”

“Copy that. Iron Man out.”

***

Rhodey was still looking at him funny, even when he ended the call. They were in the spacious hall of Stark Tower, dressed to the nines. The press-conference was scheduled on 3 pm, the guests would be brought here around 2 pm, so they would have the possibility to freshen up a little before the whole dog and pony show. Now the digital clock above the entrance showed roughly 20 minutes to 2… they had time to chat.

Today was also the first time Colonel Rhodes went in public with his leg braces on, so he was literally walking circles around a seemingly relaxed billionaire getting used to the new tech, giving him ‘The Stare’ all the while (not quite the ‘Captain America is disappointed in you’ glare, but almost just as potent).

Tony feigned innocence.

“Something the matter, Rhodey-bear?”

The problem was… Colonel Rhodes knew him too well, so the man was having none of it.

“When did it start?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“Yeah right… and my name is Iron Patriot.”

“Technically, it still is…”

“Shut up and spill, Tones. What happened to the ‘We’re going to take it slow, Rhodey’ strategy that turned it into ‘talk sex innuendoes over the comms’?”

“Well, it’s hard to say for sure… I think the attraction was always there. We just never acted on it, because he is still my parent’s murderer, and soulmate status doesn’t miraculously erase anything that happened no matter what the public opinion wants us to believe. But I got over that, and then there was the issue of taking advantage… James saw right through me, obviously, sat me down after our last arm maintenance session and we talked. I may have cried a little…”

“Oh Tony…”

“Anyhow, it was a mutual decision. We’re super-heroes, Sour Patch, we live dangerous lives, and on top of that the world may end tomorrow, so why wait?” Tony honest to God giggled. “He said he was going to _woo_ me… brought me a cactus plant the other day, said his name is Trevor. People gave me flowers before, but never like this.”

“Regular flowers don’t survive you and your work binges, Tones, so James was probably just being practical.”

“Exactly! Others buy whatever looks pretty. He brought me something made just for me.”

 “I also have a sneaky suspicion Trevor won’t be alone for long…”

“Raising a family of cacti might be fun, how would I know, never done something this _risky_ before. The bots sure are ecstatic about it…”

Rhodey smiled, a knowing gleam in his eyes, before not so subtly pointing at the oddly shaped piece of metal Tony was wearing on a chain around his neck and raising an eyebrow in a silent question.

The need to cover it, to keep it safe from the scrutiny of the world was instinctual, but the genius engineer didn’t so much as flinch. He had nothing to hide, shame had been a distant dot in the negative spectrum of his system of coordinates since the age of nineteen and the look in his Soldier’s eyes when he saw it… disbelief morphing into warm tenderness, pride and sadness mixed together… the smoldering heat of _mine_ , the mirth at the acceptance, the icy chill of protectiveness…worth it.

“Words hold little value to James and I took the alternative root and let my action speak for me,” suddenly Tony’s expression turned serious. “People out there seem to think I’m so traumatized by the ‘Civil War’ that the pure news of the Rogues returning is enough to send me into a panic attack. Yeah, Rogers tried bashing the reactor back into my chest with that shield of his. The truth is, though, that sometime between the waterboarding, the open heart surgery done in a cave without proper anesthesia, the palladium poisoning, Obey ripping my heart out, both figuratively and literally, the suicide flight into the wormhole with a fucking nuke, terrorists blowing up my home with me in it, Extremis, AIM and the magically induced nightmares… what Steve did to me isn’t even a ping on my radar anymore. What _hurt_ the most, however, were the lies…”

“You realize they’ll probably give him the team back.”

“It was always ‘Iron Man: yes, Tony Stark: not recommended’ with these people. I think it’s time to give them exactly what they want.”

A ping from Friday alerted them that the minivan he sent to the airport has just entered the Tower underground parking lot. Another ping, a mockery of the popular ‘Shave and a Haircut’, told them that James was also in position… with a sniper rifle this time.

***

The Soldier watched them through the scope of his ORSIS T-5000M rifle, a deadly specter on the rooftop almost 2 kilometers away.

On one side there was Colonel Rhodes, standing proud in his dress uniform with a somber if somewhat grim expression. Beside him was Tony Stark, who leaning on the receptionist’s desk to his right, with hard eyes hidden behind signature red shades, media smile in place, wearing the dark grey Tom Ford business suit with the same grace he wore his armor. Flanging Rhodes on the left side was Vision, still an unknown variable, despite knowing his backstory…

An AI like FRIDAY named JARVIS. His solnyshko’s first and brightest child, sacrificed in a frantic magic induced attempt to stave off the global threat no one believed in. In the end the Avengers nearly leveled an entire country trying to stop Tony’s creation.

They never talked much: Vision was still learning to be human, and so was James in a way. Just once Vision asked him what were his intentions towards ‘Sir’. The Soldier told him that his soulmate’s safety is top priority. They understood each other and left it at that.

Those standing on the other side he knew mostly through information dossiers Hydra had provided him with - they were SHIELD operatives therefor enemies. Some he found interesting, some – not.

Natalia Romanoff, the Black Widow, his former Red Room student, for example, accumulated quite a reputation over the years both as spy and assassin. Then she defected to SHIELD, switching one handler for another… and Clint Barton, Hawkeye, was the one to do it. The man used an actual bow and arrows on missions and even so was terrifyingly efficient due to his superior eyesight. After the Sokovia debacle when he brought the Maximoff siblings to switch sides (the boy died, though) he was supposed to be out of the picture for good. While Natalia looked almost impeccable, Barton carried a bone deep exhaustion settled in his features.

Sam Wilson designation Falcon, an army veteran, worked as a counselor in a VA center in DC, helping soldiers recover. A noble profession in his opinion – Bucky from Before had no reference of anything like this existing in his time. Not an Avenger at all, but a man with a huge desire to help.

Scott Lang aka Ant-man, another ‘helper’, was moved to San Francisco to undergo the rest of his sentence there, under house arrest. Hope van Dyne, the head of Pym Technologies, a formidable woman, would make sure he stayed put and out of trouble.

That left Captain America and the Scarlett Witch…

The girl looked broken, but wasn’t. She took a few good hits, but there was still light in her eyes, there were still emotions for her to experience and to express. She blamed Tony for her own miscalculations, for the mistakes that led her to the collar she hated so much. And she hated him for loosing Vision’s trust…

The girl never knew true misery. He would be happy to teach her if need be.

The Captain… Steve, though, was another matter. He wasn’t here to save the world. He came here to get answers for questions most would be very uncomfortable asking. The beard may have changed the way he looked, made him seem more mature, but it was just a diversion tactic.

“Where is Bucky? T’Chala said you were working on something that would help him.”

“… and good day to you too, Mister Rogers. How was your flight? Good? Thought so,” Tony’s voice was deceivingly neutral. “And I wasn’t working on _something_ for ‘Bucky’, because I’m _still_ working on it… for James.”

“Why isn’t he here?”

“I’m his soulmate, not his handler,” that makes Steve wince. “Believe it or not, the man does have a life… are we here for  _that_ or for the hoard of war hungry aliens that will be here in a few years?”

“Just tell me, Tony.”

“Why? I don’t have to tell you anything not Avengers related anymore, oh fearless leader. The sun of our friendship has sat,” Tony stepped away from the desk and made his way toward the elevators. “If you have other, more relevant questions, Colonel James Rhodes here was named the official liaison for the Avengers Initiative in the Accords Committee and will be happy to answer them. The conference will be starting at 3 pm and if you follow me I’ll show you to your rooms…”

“Rooms? Now you’re just being petty…”

“You, Barton, have _no_ idea how petty I can be… The thing is the Avengers aren’t stationed here no more: once the talks are over, off to the Compound we go! Ergo – guest rooms to rest in…”

He managed two whole steps before Steve caught up and yanked him back, turning them face to face. He obviously wanted to talk some more, but then his eyes settled on something around Tony’s neck, then trailed lower… and the words died in his throat.

The first few buttons of his soulmate’s dress shirt were open revealing the chain, the piece of metal plating resting in the hollow of his neck… and the top half of the arc reactor casing once again embedded deep in his chest.

“Tony…”

“You better let go of me, Mr. Rogers… or you might lose the arm.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“Warned you…”

The Soldier pulled the trigger.

***

They had to put it back in.

Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Tony’s body finally caught up with him. His health condition made a drop for the worse, scaring both him and Friday half to death.

He just found him, his little sunshine! And was about to lose him again…

Unacceptable.

Luckily, the AI had more presence in the jet, so she was able to conduct a more thorough scan of her creator using the ship’s medical equipment. What the Soldier saw on the X-rays made him sick with flashbacks about his own body modifications. There was no internal bleeding though (by some miracle) and Tony’s ribs were indeed fractured not broken, just like the engineer guessed.

It was the artificial sternum. It was hair away from falling apart. Every time Steve bashed his shield into the light in the chest of his suit with all his super-human might, the force of the impact pushed the reactor chamber against his chest. It was much akin being hit by a battering ram... several times.

They ended up turning the quinjet around, now flying to a medical institution in South Korea following a lead to Doctor Helen Cho and her regenerative Cradle. Friday was adamant she could be trusted. The Soldier nodded and brought two knives and a pistol to the meeting instead of three.

The Doctor was terrified when he pointed a gun at her. She was terrified when he escorted her to the hidden jet at gun point. She was terrified… until she wasn’t.

He should’ve trusted Friday’s judgement more.

With the Cradle and the experimental medicine synthesized from the super-soldier serum lurking in James’s blood, they put it back in…

A miniature arc reactor, a man made star.

His soulmate surrendered a part of his humanity to the serum, and although it would never make him a true super-soldier, it did make him sturdier, more resilient, gave him the opportunity to survive yet another open heart surgery, because Tony, as the only resident expert, had to be awake through the whole thing: to monitor, guide and instruct… to install the device he despised the most, wanted to get rid of the most, over his heart, because it was the single thing standing between him and death… again.

“Destiny is a bitch, Snowflake.”

He had to agree.

***

The ride to the Compound was awkward.

Steve’s arm healed, though if James really wanted to shoot it off he would have aimed a few centimeters lower. Tony drank his fruit smoothie recalling the scene in his mind’s eye, a bundle of warmth simmering deep in his chest.

_His Soldier. His James._

Fri’s alerting ping and the sound of shattered glass was the only warning he got before a high caliber bullet swished just below his chin, grazing Steve’s wrist and suddenly he and Rhodey and Vision were the only people standing with Rogers staring at him in shock and disbelief from a few feet away, others lying on the floor in various defensive positions.

He wanted to say ‘Told you’, but didn’t. Instead he organized first aid for the injured, someone to clear out the glass shards and replace the window, ushered the Rogues to move on under the curious (read: assessing) glances Nat shot his way from under the stylish blond fringe.

They held the press-conference, shook hands for publicity, posed for photos. The limo was too good for the occasion, so he settled for a minivan. Barton shot him a strange glance, when he climbed in with the rest of them, expecting him to suit up and fly on his own no less. Tony didn’t want to.

“So what was that about?” of course, it had to be Clint to address the elephant in the room. “One hell of a shot too…”

“I’ll tell him you said so.”

“Tell who?”

“They didn’t brief you who you’ll be working with? Fury must be losing his touch… or Mister Everett Ross of the Accords Committee hadn’t wanted to scare you off ahead of time. Some government policies regarding the Avengers Initiative have been changed and now we are recruiting - all super powered individuals of age possessing the skills necessary and willing to operate under the Accords Council can apply! And receive funding, training, equipment and even lodging if needed at the Compound in return. Teamwork and bonding – you can be proud!”

“And when you stand in this?”

“Nowhere,” Tony flashed him his best media smile. “Not my idea, but it was a good one, so we made it work. As for me, I forced my way into being an Avenger, never been an active member, done things way over my paygrade, so from now on I’m going to do what Fury hired me for… the same thing my _father_ did back in the day.”

“Oh… are you really okay with it?”

“Being the tech guy? Yeah, I’m good.”

“Who will be replacing you, though?” asked Nat. “Ironman had a formidable presence in the field which would be hard to replace…”

Tony looked out the car window. The highway was mostly deserted, traffic sluggish. The rapidly approaching black dot was easy to spot. The bond between them flickered with warm affection, and he took a healthy gulp of his smoothie with a dopey smile.

“See for yourself…”

The rider appeared seemingly out of nowhere, a black ghost on a black bike. Startled a squeak out of Wilson, which was a given. The new arrival was dressed in combat boots, black combat pants and a reinforced leather jacket with additional metal plating along the sides, spine and collar. A distinctive mask and goggles covered his face, long hair tied in a low ponytail. He had a black backpack with him, and when the rider changed lanes they saw that the jacket had no left sleeve exposing…

“Holy shit! Isn’t that…”

“Bucky!”

“Hi there, handsome…”

… the metal arm.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The rifle James is using, considered one of the most accurate sniper rifles in the world)  
> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/ORSIS_T-5000_.308Win_Sniping_competition_for_The_Armourers_Day_05.jpg/270px-ORSIS_T-5000_.308Win_Sniping_competition_for_The_Armourers_Day_05.jpg


End file.
